Jose Mourinho has officially taken charge of the first match of his second spell as Real Madrid head coach… sort of.
Whether or not it was a training fixture or simply a behind-closed-doors friendly match, The Athletic was there for the first 23 minutes — and found out more details as to how the rest of the game went.
The Athletic’s Guillermo Rai answers the big questions after Friday’s game below.
What happened on Friday?
Friday marked Jose Mourinho’s first game back in charge of Real Madrid, albeit with a few caveats.
The club treated it as a training fixture, allowing only accredited media to attend and broadcasting just the opening 23 minutes on the club’s television channel.
While we are still awaiting his official unveiling and first press conference, it nevertheless offered a first glimpse of Mourinho’s new side.
On a hot summer afternoon, with thick smoke from a wildfire in the region hanging over Madrid’s training ground Valdebebas and the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium, Madrid laboured to a 1-0 win over Spanish third-tier side Alcorcon.
The only goal came from Castilla winger Daniel Yanez, who won and converted a penalty.
Which players were involved?
Mourinho lined his side up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Andriy Lunin in goal; Trent Alexander-Arnold, Raul Asencio, Dean Huijsen and Alvaro Carreras across the back; Eduardo Camavinga and academy midfielder Jorge Cestero in the double pivot; Arda Guler as the No 10; Franco Mastantuono and academy winger Gabri Valero on the flanks; and Gonzalo Garcia leading the line.
Of the 12 academy players who were called up to first-team training two weeks ago, only Cestero and Valero started.
Why should you follow Real Madrid after the World Cup?
Guillermo Rai
Valero, 18, has been one of the standout performers for Madrid’s Under-19s in the UEFA Youth League and has been attracting attention for months with his fearless, dribble-first style. It did not take long for him to show those qualities.
Cestero, meanwhile, is 20 and was already a regular for Castilla — their reserve team — last season, while also making his first-team debut. Like Valero, he also played a key role in Madrid’s Youth League campaign, operating as the team’s holding midfielder. Whether he remains at the club or moves elsewhere in search of regular senior football is still to be decided.
For the second half, Mourinho handed almost the entire game over to players from Castilla and the Under-19 squad.
Madrid’s players line up before the game (Javier Soriano/AFP via Getty Images)
Were there any notable absentees?
Yes. Madrid were still without many of the players who featured at the World Cup, with 13 members of that group omitted: Thibaut Courtois, Denzel Dumfries, Antonio Rudiger, Ibrahima Konate, Marc Cucurella, Aurelien Tchouameni, Jude Bellingham, Fede Valverde, Bernardo Silva, Brahim Diaz, Vinicius Junior, Endrick and Kylian Mbappe.
Long-term absentees Eder Militao, Ferland Mendy and Rodrygo were also unavailable.
Valverde, who returned from his summer break on Monday, watched from the stands alongside Militao and Rodrygo. Nearby, club executives, staff members and relatives of several players followed the match from the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium’s main stand.
The next player expected to report for pre-season is new signing Dumfries, who is due to join the squad and be officially unveiled next week.
How did Mourinho appear to be? Did he speak at all?
Mourinho kept everyone waiting.
During the warm-up, it briefly looked as though he would not emerge from the tunnel at all. When he finally did, he immediately became the focus of every camera at the ground.
He stepped on to the pitch, folded his arms, and the first words heard from him were: “Tension, tension!”
Both Mourinho and his coaching staff were highly animated during the warm-up — something sources at Valdebebas, who, like all of those spoken to for this article, spoke to The Athletic under the condition of anonymity to protect relationships, say has been a constant feature throughout pre-season training.
Once the game began, however, he barely left the bench, instead watching proceedings calmly without many visible gestures.
Did we learn anything about Mourinho’s tactical plans for Madrid?
Not much, given how little of the match was open to the public, but one early takeaway was that Guler continues to occupy an important role.
The No 10 position appears to suit him, as it did under Xabi Alonso, and he also seems increasingly comfortable taking responsibility.
Inside two minutes, the Turkey international asked to take a penalty that Madrid won, although he failed to convert it. He was also heavily involved in the team’s few passages of possession shown on the broadcast.
More generally, Madrid looked to build from the back and use both flanks, although the tempo remained low.
Those present for the full match described the performance as underwhelming, with little fluency, several tactical flaws and a lack of sharpness in possession. At the same time, they stressed that such issues are to be expected this early in pre-season.
Sources within Madrid’s coaching staff also pointed to the physical workload of the past two weeks, saying the players were naturally feeling the effects of an especially demanding training schedule, but they were satisfied with their performance.
One player who caught the eye was Mastantuono.
The Argentinian won Madrid’s first penalty after driving in from the right wing, beating two defenders before being brought down. Even so, he still looked short of full match fitness, while his long-term role in the team remains to be determined.
Alexander-Arnold battling for the ball (Javier Soriano/AFP via Getty Images)
Why hasn’t Mourinho been unveiled yet?
That remains unclear.
Many expected Mourinho to be officially presented shortly after his first planning meeting on June 9 with chief executive Jose Angel Sanchez and head of scouting Juni Calafat at Madrid’s Santo Mauro Hotel.
Instead, that never happened.
Even then, sources close to Mourinho were already suggesting there would be no formal unveiling. Club sources still have not indicated if, or when, one will take place.
